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Not just T1 roof collapse, Delhi airport hit by rain-related incidents in past
The BJP-led union government and Congress have been pointing fingers at each other following the partial collapse of the roof of the Delhi airport terminal.
Amid heavy rain in the capital on Friday, the roof of the recently inaugurated Terminal 1 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport partially collapsed, killing one and injuring six others.
Both the Narendra Modi government and the opposition have been trading accusations at each other following this incident.
"Corruption and criminal negligence are responsible for the collapse of shoddy infrastructure falling like a deck of cards, in the past 10 years of Modi Govt," Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge wrote on X.
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Union Civil Aviation Minister, Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu hit back saying, "I want to clarify that the building inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi is on the other side and the building that collapsed here is an old one which opened in 2009,"
This is not the first time that Delhi airport has suffered infrastructural damages during monsoon.
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August 2009
In August 2009, the roof of Terminal 1D of the Delhi airport collapsed due to heavy rain and wind.
The terminal built on a budget of ₹500 crores was unable to withstand a thunderstorm with windspeed just over 90 kmph and 31.8 mm rain, reported TOI.
The incident put the airport to a halt, x-ray machines, flight information display systems stopped working and passengers were stuck in knee-deep water.
June 2013
Incessant rains in Delhi led to waterlogging at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in June 2013.
The flooding forced the passengers to carry their luggage knee-deep in water, with water flowing backing through Terminal 3, reported NDTV.
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The continuous rains combined with a poor drainage system and the topography of the area around the airport resulted in water flowing back, an airport official told NDTV.
"Incessant rains, poor drainage system in surrounding area and comparative low elevation of the airport led to back flow of water, which led to flooding at terminal area," they said.
September 2021
In September 2021, Delhi received the highest rainfall in 46 years recording more than 1,100 mm of rainfall, reported TNIE.
The Indira Gandhi International Airport among other parts of the city was flooded during in the period.
According to TNIE, the entrance of the Terminal 3 inaugurated in 2010 was flooded along with parts of the runway.
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Videos of a flooded Terminal 3 popped up on social media with the then civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia responding to the people on X (then Twitter) that he spoke to airport officials and “was told that the waterlogged forecourt was cleared up within 30 minutes.”
Authorities said that the drainage system from T3 to Najafgarh drain required widening following the flooding.
In 2022, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena gave a deadline of May 2023 to construct a new drainage system near Sector 8 in Dwaraka for proper discharge of water, reported TOI.
